'I’m not sure I dare think it, but things are starting to feel better'

'I’m not sure I dare think it, but things are starting to feel better' Column by the director of health for Northampton.

We have all now tentatively taken the first two steps on the ‘roadmap.’

With two more monumental steps to go, we are at least a county and a country enjoying and appreciating the great outdoors more than I can ever recall. I’m not sure I dare think it, but things are starting to feel better.  Northamptonshire Telegraph

NCT finds a quarter of new mothers are not asked about their mental health

NCT finds a quarter of new mothers are not asked about their mental health New mothers are still not being asked about their mental health despite GP practices in England now being funded to do so, according to new research by NCT.

See also:

• Most new mums say NHS six-week checks fail to focus on their health The Guardian

Covid: Government scientist warns of summer surge in cases

Covid: Government scientist warns of summer surge in cases The UK is likely to see a "summer surge" in Covid cases as lockdown is relaxed, a government scientist says.

Prof Adam Finn, of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, says modelling points to a rise in cases, as many adults are not immunised.

He said the UK was still "vulnerable" and the dates for easing restrictions may need adjusting. BBC News

See also:

• Covid: India sets global record for new cases amid oxygen shortage BBC News
• Covid-19 in India: Why second coronavirus wave is devastating BBC News
• Just 32 Britons have been hospitalised with coronavirus three weeks after being vaccinated The Daily Mail
• NHS unable to contact almost 1m vulnerable people during Covid pandemic The Daily Telegraph
• Pregnant women need better Covid safety at work, say campaigners The Guardian
• Influenza drug ‘good contender’ for at-home treatment against Covid-19 The Independent

Air pollution: Coroner calls for law change after Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah's death

Air pollution: Coroner calls for law change after Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah's death A coroner has called for a change in the law after air pollution led to the death of a nine-year-old girl.

Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who lived near the South Circular Road in Lewisham, south-east London, died in 2013.

An inquest had found air pollution "made a material contribution" to her death. BBC News

See also:

• Air pollution: 'All children have the right to breathe clean air' BBC News

End NHS staff shortages now, Boris Johnson told

End NHS staff shortages now, Boris Johnson told There are almost 90,000 vacancies in England, says letter on behalf of 1.4m workers, while sickness and stress may prompt more to leave

Doctors, nurses and NHS bosses have pleaded with Boris Johnson to spend billions of pounds to finally end the chronic lack of staff across the health service.

The strain of working in a perpetually understaffed service is so great that it risks creating an exodus of frontline personnel, they warn the prime minister in a letter published on Wednesday. The Guardian

Eating disorders: families tube-feeding patients at home amid NHS bed shortage

Eating disorders: families tube-feeding patients at home amid NHS bed shortage Extremely unwell eating disorder patients are having to be tube fed at home by their families owing to a lack of hospital beds, as the Royal College of Psychiatrists reports a rise in people being treated in units without specialist support.

Leading psychiatrists are urging the government for an emergency cash investment as the pandemic has prompted a rise in demand for treatment for conditions such as anorexia, amid “desperate pressure in the system”. The Guardian 

Charity hands out record 2.5m emergency food parcels across UK

Charity hands out record 2.5m emergency food parcels across UK Food bank use rose a third during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Trussell Trust, which distributed a record 2.5 million parcels across the UK.

The charity handed out 2,537,198 emergency food parcels between April 2020 and March 2021. The Daily Telegraph